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Royal household faces child sex abuse inquiry

Sean O’Neill

July 10 2015, 1:01am, The Times

Savile carried out sexual child abuse attacks in public buildings such as hospitalsMatthew Lewis/Getty Images

The royal household will be asked to provide evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which began proceedings yesterday by stating that no powerful interest would be allowed to obstruct its investigations.

Justice Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge chairing the inquiry, initially left the royal household off her lengthy list of institutions — public and private — that would be examined over historical child sex abuse allegations.

However, a spokesman for the inquiry told The Times: “There is no limit on the types of institutions that fall within the terms of reference. The monarchy is an institution and it runs a number of other institutions, all of which are potentially within the scope of the inquiry.”